Arguing the case for the arts only in economic terms is “deeply depressing”,
Lord Patten has said, as he calls on government to recognise the creative
vitality of Britain.

Lord Patten, who announced the winners of this year’s prestigious Praemium Imperiale prize, said money was “not the main reason for art”, months after culture secretary Maria Miller called on bodies to make the “economic argument” for funding.

Speaking as he announced the five Laureates for this year’s prize, sponsored by the Japanese royal family, he called on government to recognise the “spectacular” contribution Britain makes to world art.

Two of these years Laureates, sculptor Antony Gormley and architect David Chipperfield, are British, and are each awarded £100,000 alongside singer Placido Domingo, director Francis Ford Coppola and painter Michaelangelo Pistoletto.

Gormley, who is best known for his Angel of the North and Another Place, also called on British business to learn from their Japanese counterparts and support the arts through philanthropy.

Saying large corporations in Japan had "an absolute belief in the duty of corporate money to reinvest in collective future", he added: "There are examples in this country but there could be more."

Lord Patten, who is an international adviser to the prize alongside his roles as chairman of the BBC Trust and Chancellor of Oxford University, said: "Every year we are delighted to honour five more remarkable artists but it is particularly gratifying to have British sculpture and architecture so well represented in this 25th anniversary year.

"I hope the government, and all governments, recognise the contribution which that creative vitality makes economically.

"It's not the main reason for it, my God, and to have to argue for the arts in so utilitarian terms is deeply depressing."

All five winners will accept their awards, presented in honour of Prince Takamatsu, at an official ceremony in Japan on October 16.